Chapter 48

"Shooting the fire lance isn’t hard; now I can hit the target from fifty to sixty steps away. At a hundred steps, it depends on luck, and beyond that, it’s a blind shot." Liang Xing frowned and said, "The problem is that I have to read books and write with the master every day, which really gives me a headache."

Yang Qiu smiled and said, "You shouldn’t take your blessings for granted. I wish I had your opportunity. I wonder if, after we return to Xinping Fort, the master will still be busy. If he is, he might not have time to teach us."

"It won’t be like that," Liang Xing said. "The master said that all the shopkeepers in the store can read and do accounts. The apprentices start learning to read and do accounts as soon as they enter the store. The master said that these things are not just to avoid being ignorant. Reading and writing make one’s mind clear. If one reads more miscellaneous books, including travelogues, one can gain broad knowledge without leaving home, and will have clear logic, not be confused, and understand right and wrong. Therefore, all of us, including the mule and horse handlers, the warehouse managers, and the bodyguards, must learn to read. There are already literacy classes in the mule and horse trade, divided into adult and children’s classes, mostly for the handlers and craftsmen. Since the master looks at us differently, no matter how busy he is, he will personally teach us. Even in the literacy classes, the master often brings books to explain. Recently, he even sent Li Dong and Mo Zongtong to the capital to buy books."

"If it’s like that, it’s best. I still want to learn from the master."

As they chatted, it wasn’t long before they reached the branch store. Yang Qiu led Liang Xing in through the side door, then gathered the people to prepare for today’s action.

The bodyguards, who had been holding their breath for a long time, were already impatient. When they heard that there would be action, they all rubbed their hands and were very excited.

"No hurting anyone," Yang Qiu warned. "The master said we need to negotiate with them. If it goes wrong, no one can protect you."

"Yes!" Everyone responded loudly.

...

It was close to noon, and the guests invited by Ma Chao were gradually arriving at his home.

The Ma family was a scholarly family, with a lineage of nearly three hundred years. During the Hongwu period, one of the ancestors of the Ma family was among the scholars from Shanxi who were demoted in the famous North-South List incident. Later, the First Emperor supported the scholars from the North List, and the ancestor of the Ma family passed the imperial examination and served as a local official for several terms. In the following dozen generations, few passed the imperial examination, mostly becoming scholars or students. Although this did not elevate the family to a higher level, the family’s reputation remained intact.

For a scholarly family to engage in commerce, this trend began in the Longqing and Wanli periods in other places, but in Shanxi, it had been going on for a hundred years. The Ma family owned large tracts of land in Tiancheng Town, Luyang, and other places, totaling over thirty thousand acres. For a family of scholars, this was the limit. In Jiangnan, even a high-ranking official like Xu Jie owned over two hundred thousand acres, but the Xu family’s own land was less than half, with the rest being entrusted by other gentry to use Xu Jie’s influence to resist local officials and avoid taxes. The abundance of officials in Jiangnan led to a large amount of unpaid taxes every year. If a local official dared to enforce the law and collect taxes seriously, they would face a united attack, leading to a tarnished reputation and eventual dismissal.

"Has the imperial list been announced?"

"Indeed."

Ma Chao asked, and Zhang Yanhong answered. Both of them, one a scholar and the other a student, were the only ones with a say in this matter, while the others, who were all merchants, put down their wine glasses or chopsticks and listened attentively.

"Alas, what can we do?"

Ma Chao was over forty, which was quite old in this era. His eldest son was already married, and he would certainly have a grandson within the next two years. In the future, some people might not even be married, but in this era, it was completely normal.

He had been the head of the family for over ten years and had experienced many storms, but this matter still made the scholar’s face turn pale, even showing a mix of fear and anger.

Yang Qiu and the others went to prepare, while Zhang Han took out the official gazette sent by Zhang Chun from Xinping Fort and began to read it.

Not everyone had the opportunity to see the official gazette in the first place. In Xinping Fort, the official gazette was regularly received from the Board of Public Works and sent to all regions. As soon as it arrived at the hall, the Yusheng side would receive a copy. By the end of April, Zhang Han had already seen in the official gazette that Nurhaci had formally raised an army on April 13th, issuing the "Seven Grievances" and attacking Fushun. The official gazette did not provide detailed battle reports, and relying on it to analyze the specific situation was not feasible.

Zhang Han planned to send one or two clever people from Yang Qiu’s subordinates to Liaoxi in the near future to directly copy the military reports. These reports, sent by the generals to the central government, contained detailed accounts of the battles and preparations. If he could also buy off people in the Board of Public Works in the capital to copy some memorials from the Censorate, he could gain a clear understanding of the overall situation, especially the development and curve of events in Liaodong, the Ming Dynasty’s response, and the various situations in the central government.

Zhang Han always believed that a successful merchant should not involve themselves in politics but also could not be completely ignorant of it.

Of course, this was still based on his experience from the future. In the Ming Dynasty, a successful merchant who did not involve themselves in politics could only reach the level of Zhang Yun’s grandfather, with a visible ceiling. To achieve greater success, one needed the support of the gentry and a family with both officials and gentry as a backing. Without this, it was impossible to break through and rise further.

"An additional two million taels of silver?"

When he saw this item in the official gazette, Zhang Han stood up in shock. The Jiang brothers, who had been listening to a storytelling session with great interest, quickly stood up as well. Jiang Yi whispered, "Master, what’s wrong?"

"No wonder, no wonder..."

Zhang Han tapped his fingers lightly on the official gazette, finally having a clear answer to the actions of the gentry and major grain merchants in Tiancheng.

The so-called additional tax was the extra land tax imposed by the Wanli Emperor to deal with the situation in the east, adding about two million taels to the existing tax. This was the famous Liaoxiang tax, which led to the Wanli, Tianqi, and Chongzhen emperors being harshly criticized by the scholars of the Ming Dynasty.

If one were to write about this, it could be a long essay. Zhang Han had read some related books and articles. In summary, the Wanli Emperor’s imposition of the Liaoxiang tax was not very fair. The court indeed had no money, as the three major campaigns had depleted the resources accumulated by Zhang Juzheng, leaving the treasury empty. However, the Wanli Emperor himself had money. After his death, the Taichang Emperor issued a large amount of silver from the imperial treasury, totaling several million taels, though Zhang Han couldn’t remember the exact amount, it was certainly over two million.

Moreover, the imperial treasury was not fully depleted. Even during the Chongzhen period, whenever there was a border crisis and a lack of funds, the Ministry of Revenue would request the emperor to issue silver from the imperial treasury.

From the emperor’s perspective, the state and the family were one. Since the border was in crisis and the state lacked funds, why not use his own money? In the Ming Dynasty’s system, which was rigid and bureaucratic, with officials and clerks working together, the additional two million taels would result in at least ten million taels being pocketed by these parasites, making it a losing proposition.

From the Wanli Emperor’s perspective, why should he use his own money every time there was a crisis? These scholars, who usually spoke of loyalty and patriotism, would always ask the emperor for money when there was a crisis. Why? If the state lacked funds and the military pay was insufficient, then the land tax should be increased according to actual needs, which was two million taels.

In fact, the tax rate in the Ming Dynasty was always less than five percent for agriculture and even lower for commerce. From the Wanli Emperor’s perspective, increasing the tax by two million taels was not a big problem. This was indeed the case, as during the Chongzhen period, the tax was increased twice more, and this level of tax became the standard tax in the Qing Dynasty, remaining unchanged for over two hundred years, which the people could still bear.

However, the central government’s control over the localities was much weaker in the Ming Dynasty, and its control over the gentry was even weaker.

The additional tax was not adjusted for the uneven development of different regions, and it was applied uniformly across the country. For the people in Jiangnan, the additional tax was merely a matter of spinning a few more feet of cloth to earn the extra money. Until the fall of the Ming Dynasty, the southern provinces remained relatively peaceful, with few peasant uprisings. In the north, especially in the northwest, the Little Ice Age caused severe disasters. The people, who relied mainly on agriculture, faced both increased taxes and natural disasters, and with inadequate relief efforts, they were left with no choice, leading to large-scale peasant uprisings.

The Wanli Emperor’s imposition of the Liaoxiang tax was a disastrous move. Many modern history enthusiasts, in their opposition to the Donglin Party, have praised the eunuch party and, in their opposition to the Qing Dynasty, have unconditionally praised the Wanli Emperor. In reality, while the Wanli Emperor had a good grasp of the political situation, he was not even a competent ruler in terms of governance.

After reading the official gazette, a comprehensive analysis almost instantly formed in Zhang Han’s mind.

The Wanli Emperor’s additional tax opened the door to the fall of the Ming Dynasty. If the Wanli Emperor had not died, with his control over the political situation, there would not have been severe internal conflicts. Although there would have been setbacks in the Liaodong situation, it would ultimately have been resolved. Unfortunately, Zhang Han remembered that the Wanli Emperor would die in the next few years, at a critical point for the Ming Dynasty and China as a whole. His death was indeed untimely.

"From this, it seems that the gentry and grain merchants in Tiancheng have rebelled because they learned about the political situation in advance. The additional tax must have been rumored for a long time, and now it has finally been confirmed."

"Without connections in the central government, the information would have been slow to arrive. There must be someone here with direct access to the central government. Even when Zheng Guochang didn’t know about it, someone here already knew and made preparations in advance."

"Competing with me and Yusheng for grain, the key is to know that the grain prices will definitely rise sharply in the future. It’s not just about the two taels of silver difference. More importantly, it’s about preparing for the future."

"Once the additional tax is imposed, land prices will fall while grain prices will rise, not just in Datong, but also in Shanxi, Xuanfu, Datong, and Shaanxi."

"The future disasters will become more severe, and large-scale peasant uprisings should be just a few years away..."

The peasant uprisings in the northwest began during the Tianqi period and became a major force during the Chongzhen period.

Zhang Han looked at Jiang Yi and Jiang Kui and smiled, "Let’s go to the estate outside the city."

"Yes, Young Master."

The two guards, of course, had no objections. They escorted Zhang Han out, led the horses, and headed out of the city.

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